A firefighter's garment such as a cost usually has a label attached thereto. The label has information printed thereon as well as warnings and washing instructions. In addition, the label includes blank spaces which are filled in with indicia after the label is stitched in place on the coat indicating, for example, size, length, cut, serial number and the date.
These labels are usually placed in such a location that: they are not directly exposed to the environmental conditions encountered while fighting fires, such as on the inner side of a flap on the coat. However, the labels are exposed to heat and water, and movement of the flap portion relative to the adjacent portion of the coat causes abrasion of the label. These factors combine to cause the indicia to become illegible. This makes it difficult to track a particular garment. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide means to prevent the indicia on a label from becoming illegible over a period of time.
The stitching which holds the label in place also tends to be damaged by firefighting activities, and it is therefore also desirable to provide a means to protect the stitching holding the label in place.